NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's cross country team recognized three individuals with awards at the season-ending banquet Dec. 5. 

• Senior Owen Karas (Columbus, Ohio) won the John Cleary '54, Mike Stanley '54 Award.
• First-year Magnus Manley (Ridgefield, Conn.) won the Outstanding First-Year Award.
• Senior Kenan Pala (San Diego, Calif.) won the Coaches' Award.

The award winners helped the Bulldogs to a memorable season that included a fifth-place finish at NCAA Regionals for the second year in a row. This marked the first time since 2003-04 that Yale has posted back-to-back finishes in the top five at Regionals.
   
The John Cleary '54, Mike Stanley '54 Award that Karas won is given to the team member who has had an outstanding season and has gone above and beyond in their dedication to the team.
 
Karas recently concluded a remarkable season, earning a spot in the NCAA Championships with an 11th place finish (29:27.2) at NCAA Regionals. That was a significant improvement on his finish at Regionals in 2024 (22nd). He received All-Region recognition again for finishing in the top 25. 
 
Karas was Yale's top finisher in every race he ran this year. His third-place finish at Heps earned him All-Ivy League honors. He also was an Academic All-Ivy League selection.
 
Karas is a graduate of St. Charles Preparatory School.
 
The Most Outstanding First-Year Award that Manley won is given to a first-year who has shown excellent ability over the course of the season. 
 
Manley made his Yale debut at the Princeton Fall Classic, finishing seventh on the team. He went on to finish sixth on the team at both the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships and the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships.
 
Manley is a graduate of Ridgefield High School.
   
The Coaches' Award that Pala won is given to the person who embodies team values and has shown excellent improvement across the season. 
 
Pala joined Karas in earning a spot at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. He was Yale's second finisher at NCAA Regionals (12th, 29:31.1), earning All-Region recognition for the second year in a row – he finished 25th at Regionals in 2024. He was Yale's second finisher in every race he ran this year.
 
Pala is a graduate of Francis Parker School.
 
The Bulldogs now bid farewell to Karas, Pala and four other seniors: Tanish Chettiar (Los Altos, Calif.), captain Braden King (Sacramento, Calif.), Alex Mader (San Francisco, Calif.) and Will Sheehy (Los Angeles, Calif.). Three of the team's seven runners from NCAA Regionals return for next season.